Chapter 63
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Chapter 63
At the company plaza, the street crowd bustled, with people occasionally stopping in their tracks to look up and admire the two Century Towers. Their expressions mixed with envy, longing, and disdain.
The busy corporate drones in suits had grown accustomed to the sight of aero-cars zipping between the towering skyscrapers above their heads.
Some looked up at the unattainable pinnacle of power.
Others, standing at that pinnacle, gazed down upon the crawling multitudes below.
Meredith Stout was one such person, holding a key position in Militech. Her office on a high floor allowed her an eagle's eye view of Night City through the expansive windows.
But today, Meredith's attention wasn't on the view below. Her gaze was fixed on the opposing Arasaka Tower, which stood black and solemn against the sky.
She couldn't see inside the Arasaka Tower, but she knew that someone there, just like her, was likely observing the Militech building.
As natural enemies, it was inevitable that their paths would cross in collaboration, competition, and infiltration.
Meredith stood before the window, arms crossed in front of her, staring through the screen at the Arasaka Tower, focusing on the 78th floor—the Jungle Meeting Room in Arasaka's senior boardroom. She was waiting for a piece of news, for Arasaka's board decision.
The night before, she had led a team to raid an abandoned steel factory in the northern industrial district, thwarting an Arasaka special operation plan and annihilating three Arasaka special forces squads.
This incident had been classified as top-secret by Militech and was kept under absolute lockdown.
The seriousness of the matter hinged on how the Arasaka board would handle the situation today.
At the time, she and the deputy chief of Arasaka's counter-intelligence had reached a secret agreement to jointly conceal the true nature of the incident.
If the other party reneged, reporting the matter to the upper echelons of Arasaka's board, Meredith would need to be ready for the fallout.
She had made arrangements for an informant within Arasaka to deliver the news as soon as the board meeting concluded.
Meredith looked grave as she rotated her cybernetic eye to check the time. Most of the morning had passed without word of the board meeting's end.
"It seems the board meeting is quite heated. Are they assigning blame, or discussing how to counter Militech?" Meredith pondered many possibilities.
The only uncertainty was the young deputy chief at Arasaka.
"Ruthless in weeding out adversaries, yet with insignificant backing; he doesn't seem solely devoted to Arasaka's cause."
Meredith had conducted a thorough intelligence investigation on Tang Yu and was aware of his career at Arasaka.
Her assessment was that he was a lone wolf, always maximizing his own interests, a tough character in counter-intelligence.
Finally, her executive assistant requested permission at the door to deliver a report, indicating that the Arasaka board meeting had concluded with significant announcements made.
Her cybernetic eye whirred as the office door slid open automatically.
The secretary hastened in and provided a detailed report on the proceedings and outcome of the Arasaka board meeting.
After hearing the report, Meredith's furrowed brow somewhat relaxed. However, upon learning of Tang Yu's promotion, she couldn't hide her surprise.
"Co-deputy chief?"
This outcome was unexpected, even if she had obtained the cybernetic body data and completed the mission, such a rapid promotion seemed excessive.
Tang Yu had only been with Arasaka for a few years?
In the six years since the rebuilding of the Arasaka Tower, most of the top executives were transferred from other regions, with only a few being promoted from within Night City's Arasaka Tower.
The current head of counter-intelligence, Arthur Jenkins, for instance, was parachuted in from Arasaka headquarters just over a year ago.Tang Yu's rise was meteoric, earning him the title of a rising star in the Arasaka Corporation's cutthroat workplace. Meredith pondered momentarily, realizing the situation was far from straightforward. "A lone wolf, with no factional backing, able to make headway against the current—it suggests the hand of factional maneuvers."
"Michiko is in power now; could it be her doing?" Meredith surmised that Tang Yu had become a pawn in Arasaka's internal power struggles, promoted merely to be used as a tool by Michiko to counter the opposition. Tang Yu did not disclose the full truth behind the deal that night, which led the Arasaka board to believe that Militech was just covertly supporting the Tyger Claws. "It seems he's well aware of the importance and implications," Meredith concluded, regaining her composure as she gathered intel on the Arasaka board.
Sitting at her desk, she began executing the premeditated plan. "Arasaka's theft of experimental military cyberware data is more complicated than it appears," she mused. "Since it's Tanaka from the R&D department who needs it, find someone reliable to investigate what exactly Tanaka is up to." Her secretary bowed in acknowledgment and left the office.
Meredith tapped her desk, pulling up Tang Yu's personal information, which displayed his recent promotion to Deputy Director. She eyed the data, then spun the yellow light of her cyber-eye to access her contacts, sending a congratulatory message to Tang Yu. "Tang, congratulations on your promotion to Deputy Director." ... In Westbrook. On Cherry Blossom Road.
In front of TURGO convenience store. Maine sat alone under a sunshade, his figure tinged with solitude contrasted by the quiet daytime square, which lacked the usual evening bustle, especially since Dolly, Pilar, and the others were injured the previous night and didn't gather there. Maine was waiting for someone to pay him the remaining compensation for the intelligence he sold to Faraday. He took a swig of his beer to cool off.
After a while, a wine-red luxury car slowly pulled up. The driver-bodyguard got out and strutted over to Maine, saying, "Get in." Maine scoffed at the bodyguard's haughty demeanor but followed him into the car after setting down his beer bottle. The car door shut, and the vehicle started moving again. Inside the spacious cabin, Faraday was dressed in his extravagant wine-red suit, his legs crossed, quietly eyeing Maine.
"The intelligence you provided was good; here's the rest of your compensation." 30,000 Eurodollars were wirelessly transferred to Maine's electronic account. Maine, seeing the modest sum, realized Faraday must have siphoned off a substantial amount from the Militech deal. "Bastard..." Faraday was indifferent to Maine's anger, which was of no consequence to him, and he proceeded,
"Considering the accuracy of this intelligence, I have a new job for you." He applied his fingers to the armrest to confirm his identity with his fingerprint, and a small chip popped up from Maine's side. Maine inserted the chip into his bio-neural socket to download the mission. "What?" As the data transfer finished, Maine's face grew more serious. "Steal Arasaka's high-end vehicle navigation travel data?" Faraday asked indifferently, "Is there a problem?"